Downtown Eugene murals walk: Oregon self guided street art tour (+ map!)

I love when there’s a high concentration of street art in one place, so you can walk for a bit and see a ton of murals. I recently explored Downtown Eugene, Oregon with my kids and a friend and we saw oodles of brand-new murals! In fact, since they were so close together, we put together a Eugene murals walk—and I made a map so you can literally follow in my footsteps!

Eugene, Oregon recently commissioned a ton of new street art in anticipation of hosting the Olympics Trials in 2020. Throughout the city, improvements, parks projects and beautiful art installations are going up. That’s good news for everyone visiting Eugene, whether you’re there for the Olympic Trials or not.

The many murals in Downtown Eugene are one of the most visible and vibrant examples of these updates. Good news: You can see them all with my Eugene murals map, which takes you past all the street art in the center of this university town. Throughout the post, I’ll talk about murals and number them, so you can see what they correspond to on the murals map.

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Download the mural map here:

Also in this post, you’ll read about and see photos of other examples of public art in Downtown Eugene.

Finally, I have some other recommendations, including a Downtown Eugene restaurant that’ll fill you up and satisfy your love of street art at the same time! As always, this post is family friendly for the folks visiting Eugene with kids.

Whether you’re bringing along a crew or wandering Eugene solo, you definitely don’t want to miss these Downtown Eugene murals!

Start your Eugene mural walk: Hidden alley street art

If you’re visiting Eugene, Oregon on the weekend, good news: The main parking garage in Downtown Eugene is free! The parking garage on the northwest corner of 8th and Willamette is also your spot to start your Eugene mural walk.

If you park on the roof, like we did, you’ll see street art before you even hit the street! This parking garage has a handful of murals—look next to the elevators.

From the parking garage, walk half a block north on Willamette to find your first mural. In the alley between 7th and 8th, Matt Small’s geometric portrait peeks out [#1 on my Eugene mural map]. This mural in Eugene is unlike most others: Instead of painting directly on a wall, this British artist used a combination of paint, wood and metal rivets to create his vision.

Next, cross the street back to the parking garage. On the southwest corner of 7th and Willamette, you’ll find a tall mural celebrating artist AIKO’s Japanese culture [#2 on my Eugene mural map].

If you’re thirsty already, this Eugene mural is directly next to the newly opened Manifest Beer Company. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m so excited Downtown Eugene now has a craft beer-focused brew pub. (Eugene is serious about its beer.)

Next, walk south on Willamette. Just past Off the Waffle (a delicious and family friendly restaurant in Downtown Eugene), turn right into the alley. In the parking lot behind several bars, you’ll find two murals. One is a bird in flight [#3 on my Eugene mural map]. It reminds me of using pieces of masking tape to create the silhouette of an eagle. Unfortunately, a truck was parked right in front of it on the day we visited, but at least it color coordinated with the street art!

Directly across from the bird mural is one of my favorite street art spots in Eugene. What’s more, if you weren’t intentionally looking for this Eugene mural, you’d miss it, since it’s tucked away in an alley [#4 on my Eugene mural map]. Whenever we come to downtown Eugene we stop for a photo in front of this colorful, abstract mural. It reminds me of the futurism art movement, like a painting by Umberto Boccioni.

Your next leg of your Downtown Eugene street art tour

From here, continue south in the alley. Cross Broadway to find the next Eugene murals. This alley is like gold in terms of hidden street art treasure: It is home to four murals (though one is so small you might not spot it!).

First is the impressive, large scale mural by the duo behind Brazil’s Acidum Project [#5 on my Eugene mural map]. In fact, the mural is so big—and the alley so narrow—that it’s tough to step back and see it all at once (or photograph it all at once!). Instead, I found myself slowly walking along the alley, taking in the mural one bit at a time.

My kids, though, just wanted to see it at high speed: The alley is perfect for sprinting! Maybe they’re practicing for the 2020 Olympic Trials. 😉

Continue along the alley to see several more murals, which aren’t noted on the most popular Eugene mural map. (They’re on mine, though!)

Opposite the Brazilian mural, you’ll find a large-scale portrait that 100% reminds me of a young Liza Minelli [#6 on my Eugene mural map]. I’m not sure if the artist was inspired by Liza’s early career, but I like to imagine so!

Directly next to Liza/Not-Liza, I fell in love with this stenciled mural by French artist Blek le Rat [#7 on my Eugene mural map]. I’m a sucker for the black and white contrast of stenciled murals—they remind me of paintings my dad made long before I was born but that still hang in my parents’ house.

Maxine and I had a blast pretending to be dancers with this street art in Eugene. Don’t worry, we won’t quit our day jobs.

Finally, keep an eye near ankle-level for a small but odd mini-mural. I’m not going to tell you what or where it is—I want it to be a surprise!

At this point, Maxine needed to use a bathroom, so we stopped by the beautiful Eugene Public Library. This building also has restrooms accessible after the library closes, so it’s a good stop.

Level 10 travel tip: If you’re doing this Eugene mural crawl with kids, the Eugene Public Library has a gigantic checkers board in its children’s section. We had a ton of fun goofing off in here!

Just outside the library, you’ll find more public art. The statues sitting in front of the library’s entrance just begs for a photo.

(You’ll see plenty of other bronze statues of people in Downtown Eugene, Oregon. One of the most famous Eugenians, Ken Kesey, has his own statue—and plaza—nearby, next to the Eugene outpost of Voodoo Doughnuts.)

From the library, cross Olive Street to the Downtown Eugene bus station. First, you can’t miss the enormous, ambitious mural by artist Beau Stanton. It covers the entire back wall of historic McDonald Theater [#8 on my Eugene mural map]. Unfortunately, construction on the bus station mostly obscured the mural when we visited, so I didn’t get a great photo. I hope you’re better able to see this large-scale painting when you head to Eugene!

Right around the corner, you’ll find a mural that looks like a surreal barnyard scene or cock fight [#9 on my Eugene mural map]. Maxine and Edie were fascinated/bewildered by this piece, which reminds me of the art and literature of magical realism.

Your final stops on the Downtown Eugene, Oregon street art tour

Walk through the Downtown Eugene bus station and turn right on 11th. If you’re hungry, grab a bite at Kiva, the alternative grocery store that’s been a Eugene favorite since bell bottoms were in style the first time.

In Kiva’s parking lot, it’s impossible to miss this three-part mural. It’s a bit ambiguous, but Max and Edie thought it depicted someone growing/sculpting a potted plant. I like murals that make you think. After all, the best street art is viewable as people go about their days shopping, commuting or running errands—and it makes people stop in their tracks. The best street art makes you notice beauty, or a challenging image, when you’d otherwise be distracted by the to-do list running through your brain.

Next, walk down Charnelton. Between 10th and Broadway, a Western-inspired scene takes up almost a block-long stretch of wall. This cowboy napping on his sleepy dog makes me think of a wide-open prairie, horses and the lowing of cows.

Finally, continue down Charnelton. Just past the intersection with 8th Avenue, you’ll walk past a stunning portrait of an old woman. This up-close mural lovingly shows her deep wrinkles. I can’t help but wonder about the life she might have lived.

From here, you’re only a block away from the parking garage where we started. Either head out—or, if you’re hungry, check out some of my favorite restaurants in Eugene for those who love street art!

Eugene restaurants for street art fans

By now, you’ve worked up an appetite on your self-guided tour of Eugene murals. You could grab a bite to eat downtown, as there are plenty of great restaurants in the area. But if you want to continue the Eugene murals theme, you’ll want to eat at one of these restaurants:

1. Whirled Pies

You’re in luck: If you made it to the end of the Eugene murals walk, you’re right in front of Whirled Pies, a local pizza joint with a Eugene twist. This pizza restaurant is on the same block as the old woman mural.

This Eugene pizza restaurant serves the usual pizzas by the slice or whole pie, plus a few Eugene-themed specials (like the West Jefferson, which is topped by chicken and peanut sauce). I appreciated that Whirled Pies also sells gluten-free pizza, and it was delicious. No cardboard-tasting crust here!

Heads up that Whirled Pies has pizza happy hour every day from 3-5pm. Medium cheese slices are only $1 (!!), and they have beverage specials too.

Inside, you’ll see that most of this Eugene restaurant’s walls are covered in a lifelike mural. The mural imagines an outdoor dinner party with diverse guests, from a flute-playing hippie to a Native woman in fancy dress, plus musicians, dancers, kids and even a cougar!

2. Cornbread Cafe

This vegan homestyle cooking restaurant is one of my favorite restaurants in Eugene, Oregon. I take my kids to Cornbread Cafe in part because of their terrific (and healthy) kids’ menu. I love all the vegetarian takes on diner food. (My fave: the Eugenewich on a gluten-free bun.)

And now there’s even more to appreciate at this vegan restaurant in Eugene, Oregon: A new mural of a little boy wading in the river has gone up in Cornbread Cafe’s parking lot! The mural looks a lot like a black and white photograph enlarged to take up an entire wall.

Go for the mural, stay for the vegan comfort food.

3. Falling Sky Brewing

If you’re looking for a brew pub that pays as much attention to its food as its beer, you’ve found it in Falling Sky Brewing. This Eugene brewery hand-crafts just about everything on its menu, from the dressings and fries to, of course, its beer.

Falling Sky has 42 taps of its own beer, and it’s constantly mixing up the rotation with new recipes. Plus, when it’s raining, you’ll get a 25 cent discount on your pint!

If it’s clear, though, sit outside on their back patio. And don’t leave without checking out the two murals next to Falling Sky, pictured below.

Are you excited for this super-fun thing to do in Eugene? Explore hotels near these amazing murals:

Booking.com

Discover street art in Eugene, Oregon

Whether you live in Eugene, Oregon, you’re just passing through, or Track Town USA is a vacation destination, I hope this post on the city’s street art has inspired you!

Eugene is constantly changing, and the pace of reinvention has only increased in anticipation of the Olympic Trials. I’m excited to see what’s next in my hometown!

Enjoy this suggestion for things to do in Downtown Eugene. Look for me hanging around these Eugene murals—I’ll be there every chance I can get.

PS – If you’re in the area, you’ll want to take a peek at some of Oregon’s best day trips!